History of Zipangu
by Hajimari
Summary: How Zipangu came to be.
1. 1st Victory of Invasion

Disclaimer: I do not own MapleStory.

A/N: A MapleStory three-chapter story. Just needed to go for something random so this is it.

Title: The History of Zipangu

Summary: How Zipangu came to be!

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**_Chapter 1: 1st Victory of Invasion_**

"Take this! And that! And this!" After three waves of her Dragon Staff, the female priest had successfully defeated the blasted Death Teddy as it vanished into the air, leaving behind a sealed teddy bear and a red valentine rose. She went forward and picked up the two items, along with 500 mesos.

She sighed as she walked out of the Forgotten Path of Time 3. It has been months when the female magician had joined in the adventure of Maple. She had landed in Victoria Island with a hope of becoming a well-known and famous priest.

And now, Maria has done it.

Her adventures from a magician to a cleric and from a cleric to a priest were most treasured in her memories, but she feels bored. What's the fun of fighting monsters when you can defeat them easily? She sighed as she teleport all the way from every portals back to the town of Ludibrium. As she walked every step, maplers looked at her with much interest, partly because of two reasons: her clothing and her appearance.

She was elegant in terms of looks and had the rare long and blond hair that most people desired. Her eyes were of the cutest and kindest ones and her skin tone was pretty much fair. A green streak of hair also adorned on hair, most probably, the hairstylist had thought that it was the best to suit her hair and had dyed it.

Her clothes were, without a doubt, an envy to all the adventurers. Her clothes held a high status of someone of over level 90. Her Dark Varr Hat was placed neatly on her hair, and the contrast of the dark hat and her bright hair was great, making it a perfect combo. The Dark Bazura fitted her nicely and showed off her flawless figure, with the Dark Varr Shoes and the rare Dark Sage gloves completed her ideal appearance of dark and mysterious. All in all, her overall of appearance was flawless. To add on to that, the Dragon Staff and Esther Shield she held made the people's faces to be green with envy.

However, she had almost no meaning in life. She was a great priest and nothing could stop her. Even if they did, she could destroy them with her Holy Symbol. Deciding to return to Victoria Island once more after her 2-month adventures in Ludibrium, she teleported to the ticket station and went back to Ossyria. Continuing from there, she travelled to Victoria Island, and when she came out of the Ellinia ship station, she could call here her 'home' – it's the closest to what she will have; a home to all magicians.

Suddenly, a yellow creature came to her and said, "You look down. What's the matter?" Maria looked up and saw a yellow fox with a leaf between it's ears, it's tail in a form of blue cloud.

"I don't know what to do now in this Victoria Island. I've accomplished all great things but I still feel something is missing." Maria sighed heavily.

"Come with me. I know of something that might cheer you up." The fox said. Looking at its cute appearance, Maria let her usual guard down and followed the bouncing fox.

"Where exactly are we going, Mr Fox?" Maria said politely.

"A place of tranquil." The fox said and they went into a hidden cave. As they walked through, Maria lighted up the whole place with a bright tip of her staff. The tiny fox thanked her and they walked in silence, with Maria questioning this 'place of tranquil'.

"How is it exactly?" Came the same repeated question.

"You'll see. Ah, here we are." The fox said as light shone through at the end of the cave. When they walked out of the dark and cold cave, Maria's eyes shone with shock and sadness. She had never known of such a world in the depths of Ellinia and the surroundings were so pitiful. Cracks formed on the ancient grounds and everywhere were signs of coming death. Even the skies were in dull colours.

"Why am I here?" Maria demanded. "You said you'll bring me to a place that would cheer me up. This place is so sad."

"I know what you want, Miss Maria." The fox began. "You wanted to do something more, to help. Please, I'm begging you, Miss Maria. I need your help to make this place a place of tranquil. A place where life is guaranteed and not dead. Please, help us."

Slowly, more similar foxes came out from behind the rocks. Their tails were also of a blue cloud. There were more creatures emerging; foxes with purple clouds as tails, a raccoon with a fire at its back and a leaf between its ears, and also the foxes with blue cloud tail. On the faces was grieve written all over it. Their tears were still evident on their faces and sadness began to fill Maria again. Then, she came to a decision.

"I'll help you." Maria said firmly. Immediately, all the cute little creatures cheered up and replacing their faces were smiles.

Firstly, Maria used her Holy Symbol on the huge piece of land, destroying all evil creatures and dark monsters hiding in deep corners. Immediately, all forms of evil were gone and the skies returned to its blue colours with pleasant clouds. Days after days, with the help of Maria, the creatures learned to plant cherry blossoms and learned the formulas of making good food.

Slowly, they began to look up to Maria, offering what they have and what she wants. Maria's initial sadness and emptiness were gone as she spent each day happily with her friends.

But great powers came great jealousy from others.

At this time, ghosts began to discover the well-nourished land with plentiful. Thus, they begin a plan to capture the place and turn it into their own territory. For days they planned their evil deeds and practiced the whole plans. And quickly, the whole plan began to form and the fall of the great land was prominent.

At night, the ghosts secretly entered the land through the cave. They came in thousands and each sunk into the different bodies of all the creatures. Maria didn't noticed as she was fast asleep in a secret and elegant place of which the creatures made for her. They believed that there would be invaders if others found out about this rich land, and the invading started already.

Next day, Maria was confused as no creatures came to attend to her as they usually did on their own accord. Hence, she left the safe hidden hideout and went out to take a look.

"Turn this place into a cemetery!" A loud voice boomed and Maria jumped. She hided behind a rock and took a peek, shocked at what she saw. The friendly creatures were turning evil and they crashed every friendly item, replacing tombstones in their places.

"Stop that at once!" Maria shouted to them.

"Who is this girl?" The same loud voice boomed and the source descended from the sky. She looked up and saw a ghost larger than all that surrounded him.

"Who are you? What have you done to these creatures?" Maria demanded.

"Nothing. I was just invading this land." The large ghost said in a booming voice.

"Then it's your unlucky day." Maria smirked.

"Why is that so?"

"Because I am a priest and you're ghosts. Look at it, idiot, I'm on the advantage here." When the ghost heard this, he quickly retreated with a face of fright on his face. But Maria was too quick, she took her staff and created a Holy Symbol, wiping away all the ghosts in the entire land, including those who took over the creatures' bodies.

When they vanished, the creatures said sadly and bowed to Maria, "We're so sorry! We never meant to hurt you!"

"I know." Maria smiled at them and once again, peace was restored. Knowing that there would be more invaders in future, Maria had taught them skills of destroying and protecting. She also named them with a name of each species; the foxes with blue cloud tails were called 'Cloud Fox'. The foxes with purple cloud tails were called 'Night Fox', and the raccoon with a flame at the back was called 'Flaming Raccoon'.

Also, on this day, Maria had declared the land not be called 'the land' anymore but 'Zipangu'. Hence, Zipangu was born.

But as Maria grew older until she became an old lady, the descendents of the earlier ghosts swore to revenge for their ancestors. They gathered information that Maria had grew old and weak, and they took this into account for their advantage.

_To be continued…_


	2. Fall of Zipangu

Disclaimer: I do not own MapleStory.

A/N: Chapter two of History of Zipangu. Hope you enjoy!

**amane**: Thank you for liking my story! I was thinking the story is stupid but at least now I know that you like it. Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter.

**BronzeRavenRavenclaw**: I can understand your feelings as a magician. It's tough to train when your level is low. However, elementary wizards are just as good so I wish you good luck on your leveling!

**KazeNoTsubasa**: Thank you for liking my story. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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_**Chapter 2: Fall of Zipangu**_

Years flew by and Maria got older and older, her powers weakened and she wasn't as alert as she was in her younger days. However, the cloud fox, night fox and flame raccoon continued to be loyal to her, no matter if they knew how useless she was when protecting them. Maria knew her days were short, and tried to do as much for Zipangu and her friends. Helping in the rise of Zipangu was the happiest moment ever and the love of her friends gave her much compassion for them.

However, in the depths of hell, ghosts roamed all over, furious for the death of the ancestors and hungry for revenge. For eight years, they have planned the perfect plan to destroy the peaceful and plentiful Zipangu and replace the land with tombstones and anything signifying death. Finally, their plan was completed, and on this fateful night, they carried out their plans carefully, secretly and quietly…

The next morning, Maria took her staff and went out to breathe the fresh crisp morning air. She had used her staff as her walking stick to support herself as she was as fragile as china. As she strolled, she noticed that the three species of friendly monsters gathered at a certain spots, murmurs were heard between their own discussions.

"What is it?" Maria asked a young night fox at the last row of the crowd.

"There is suddenly a tombstone in the middle of Zipangu." The young fellow replied.

Maria asked to see the tombstone and everyone separated, leaving a clear route for Maria to pass as their respect for her never ends. When she saw the grayish piece of shaped stone, she inspected it for a while, then walked around it, thinking thoughtfully. Then, with a commanding voice, she ordered, "Get this tombstone out of here and throw it into the fire!"

Immediately, all the monsters obeyed but they were too slow. Ghosts emerged from the tombstone in a continuous flow and entered the monsters' bodies. Maria looked around and saw her enemies advancing towards her. By now, everyone in Zipangu has been processed. Maria used her dragon staff and immediately used her Holy Symbol on all the ghosts.

The ghosts backed away but it was too late, the Holy Symbol reached them and they grimaced in agony. However, after a while, the killing light around them faded and the attacked ghosts looked at themselves. Realizing that they are all fine, they laughed and mocked, "Stupid mortal priest. We're still alive! That Holy Symbol was like receiving tingles, such fine attack." Maria backed away some more, knowing that her powers were weakened with her age. The ghosts advanced to her with gleeful smiles and laughs on their faces. Then, she came to the biggest decision of her life.

She was going to sacrificing herself to save the land she loved so much.

"No!" She suddenly heard the melodious voices of the hidden souls of the cloud foxes, night foxes and flame raccoons. "Please don't die, Miss Maria. You are what we live for!" Maria heard their words and smiled sadly, ignored her friends' pleads and with a final cry, her body vanished into tiny bulbs of light, sprinkling on the ground. Immediately, cherry blossoms trees bloomed from the ground and harvested, their petals fluttered down, swaying with the wind.

The night foxes, cloud foxes and flame raccoons saw the loss of their friend as a crime which they had done. If not for protecting them, she would have lived. If they hadn't asked her to help in the first place, she wouldn't have died before her death age. Agreeing with each other as they communicated soul-soul, they dispersed their powers and life on the land again.

The ghosts tried to prevent the monsters from doing this. They knew that without that loss of energy, they were very powerful. But as their energy showered onto the grounds of Zipangu, their hopes of a better army made from them were dashed. Incredibly, the energy from the monsters grew more and more nature on the land and flowers were all fluttered on the floor.

"What…what is this?" The leader of the ghosts stammered in a horrified voice. And when a petal from the cherry blossom tree touched the ghost, he vanished, just like that. When the ghosts realized that the flower petal will destroy them when they are being touched by it, all the ghosts took off, including the ones with the monsters' bodies.

The bodies of the night foxes, cloud foxes and flame raccoons were still possessed by the ghosts until now. Centuries after the successful invasion of the ghosts and the fall of Zipangu, the land remained vacant until archeologists discovered the place with the history written on a big slab of stone.

Also, historians believed that the cherry blossom trees were a symbol of Maria's love for Zipangu. The petals of the cherry blossoms would never harm an innocent being, but only evil and undead monsters. That is why no monsters ever appear in Zipangu but only the areas unprotected by the pure trees.

The night foxes, cloud foxes and flame raccoons were continued to be possessed by the ghosts, hunting innocent travelers. The souls of these original monsters have never had the intention to kill, so they always lower their defense and attack to the minimum to prevent the death of the mapler. However, the ghost would always somewhat push the attack and defense level up, and those two levels are remained constant. That is why maplers have a easy time defeating them.

The fall of Zipangu was never a fortunate thing, and loyal Zipangians (residents of modern Zipangu) always mourn at a specific time of the year, celebrating the bravery and nobility of the monsters and the creator of this land, Maria.

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A/N: Hope you enjoy this chapter. Next chapter will be only about the festival and celebration, which is the final chapter of 'History of Zipangu'.

Please review!


	3. The Tradition of Zipangu

Disclaimer: I do not own MapleStory.

A/N: I want to play MapleStory but don't know why, it just couldn't open, and I downloaded the full client. Life sucks without Maple.

**Clario**: Thanks for reviewing. And just a note, I visited your profile page and saw your stories. Unfortunately, I don't have much interest in all the games your stories were written on so I didn't read. Sorry! But anyway, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

This is the last chapter of 'History of Zipangu'. Different kinds of food will be mentioned in this chapter. Besides, it is the consumable items (food) that inspired me to write this story. (I'm quite a glutton. Haha.)

_Note: This chapter will be extremely boring and it is only for my 'randomism' that I write such things.

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**_Chapter 3: The Tradition of Zipangu_**

The streets of Zipangu were lit with bright lights of every colour; pink, blue, yellow, red, and a lot of other colours. Decorations of lanterns and cherry blossom designs were everywhere on the streets. And at this time of the year, Sakura blossomed richly and fell onto the gravel ground, decorating the dull grey with its brilliant and vibrant pastel pink.

Different shops sold different kinds of food, and there is a story to all types of food. And tales of the food were told by grandparents to their children and grandchildren.

"Grandmother, what is the story behind the Blossom Juice?" A child will ask, and his answer will be told in a long but interesting tale. The different story were written on numerous rice papers with black ink, still in good and preserved condition due to Maria's permanent magic on them and was only found by the residents of Zipangu only recently.

Now, let us explore the story of 9 out of numerous different foods eaten on the day of remembrance for Maria and her noble friends…

_1) Blossom Juice_

This traditional drink is made of crushed Sakura and other mystic ingredients. It is able to heal anyone, in both magic and health. It was first discovered by Maria while coming across a rare cherry blossom plant and discovered its uses. Historians believed that because Maria found out the mystic healing powers cherry blossom held, she sacrificed herself in the form of cherry blossoms which covered most of the grounds of Zipangu.

Here is an extract from Maria's diary which was discovered only recently:

"_Today, while I was gathering herbs in the hilltop, I came across a pink plant. It smelled heavenly and my instincts told me that it wasn't poisonous. I plucked a flower and ate it. Immediately, a wonderful feeling overcame me as I found my magic and health restoring. I must research on this plant! When I find its uses, and if it has good effects, I must research on a health drink using this miraculous plant!"_

_2) Dumpling_

This food is made and its tale doesn't come from Maria, instead, it came from the night fox. One night, as the purple-tailed fox was strolling, it found a clam in the river. It knew that within the hard shell, was a luminous pearl waiting to be taken away. The night fox loved pearls, but he didn't want to hurt the clam by stealing away it's pearl. Then, an idea struck him, and then, he went to work. Thus, he created the first dumpling in Zipangu, using fresh vegetables and pork as the filling within the thin and plain dough. The dumpling signifies that within the plain-looking dough lies a wonderful and tasteful treasure of the mixture of pork and vegetables.

_3) Kinoko Ramen_

This dish includes three types: salt, pig bone and roasted pork. These are traditional food and are eaten on the day of festival and are a must. Legend has it that once, while Maria was away, a monster invaded Zipangu. The monsters then searched for a very long string and tied up the monster. Hence, the noodles originate from the string which symbolized the monsters' first victory without Maria. As time goes by, different varieties have been tried and these three turned out to be the best. Thus, kinoko ramen was born.

_4 and 5) Sushi, Takoyaki_

Apparently, a monster in Zipangu invented this dish and thought that it was first made by him. Clearly, it was wrong but the monsters have no idea about the outside world so they concluded that they made the first dish. However ironic the story of these two foods came about, the present residents treat these as a food from their founders, thus, regarded it with much respect.

_6) Mushroom Miso Ramen_

Only the finest ingredients are used to make this bowl of yummy ramen. Although not part of the traditional food, historians found that in the ancient days of Maria, this is a very nutritious bowl of noodles for everyone. In fact, they are used for food when travelling and can last days being piping hot, thanks to Maria's powerful magic. Because of the significance of Maria, Zipangu residents began to look upon the dish and treat it as their daily meal.

_7) Pink Rice Cakes_

The traditional piece of rice cake is pink! It is a yummy and delicious after-meal treat with each bite containing Sakura goodness. Why? Because when it is made, cherry blossoms petals and essence are being mixed with the flour, resulting in the pink colour and the sweet taste and aroma. Because of the cherry blossoms' significance, pink rice cakes have been officially named traditional and is a 'must' to eat to during every festival.

_8) Tri-coloured Dango_

The Dango with three colours embeds three different flavours; green is the apple-flavour, white is just sweet and pink is Sakura-flavoured. The three different flavours signify the simple yet rich elements of apple, sugar and cherry blossom. According the Zipangu folks, it is known that when Maria first created Zipangu, apple trees and sugar plantations were the first to appear, hence, the flavor of the Dango. As for the cherry blossom, it held much of an importance that it was almost ridiculous to leave out cherry blossom. However, the tale of apple-and-sugar-appear-first was being dismissed by historians as they found no traces of such a thing in Maria's diary. However, this legend remains unbroken among the local people.

_9) Yakisoba_

The locally-made treat is a goodness with every bite. Legend tells us this dish was in a experimental stage by a Night Fox. When it died of old age, his descendents continued with it by changing and adding, thus, Yakisoba was born. This was proven in one of the extract from Maria's diary:

"_Just today, I found out that a Night Fox created a masterpiece of food, one which was called Yakisoba. Its rich sauce was a boost to the deliciously cooked noodles and the garnish varied, creating a different and wonderful taste with each creativity brain cell. Among all combinations of the garnish, I especially liked the combination of bonito flakes, mayonnaise, shredded pickled ginger and seaweed powder." _

The residents in Zipangu lead a life of richness and plentiful. Because of the rich agriculture and the spring throughout the year, it yields delicious and fresh products. Traditionally, all children from ages 10 to 16 must visit the marble statue of Maria. This statue was just an artist's impression of Maria but it holds meaning to it. After all, it's the thought that counts.

The children must pay their respects to the statue and also, they could make prayers and wishes. This is a 'must' tradition for only Zipangu residents and visitors are not required as much to do this. After that, a traditional tea ceremony would take place, signifying the cleansing of souls and the new start of life.

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A/N: Told you it would be a boring chapter. After all, it is for my 'randomism' that I write this so I didn't really expect people to read it. However, if you did, thanks and I hope you enjoyed it! 

Review! If you want to…


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